Survival Guide for New Parents Moving With a Baby or Toddler

Families with babies and toddlers have more to worry about than making sure the heavy boxes are at the bottom of the stack and that the couch will fit down the new hallway. They’re also worried about managing meal times, naps, and simply keeping a child entertained enough that they don’t get bored, without overstimulating them from everything that happens when a family is moving homes.

Families that are moving locally can follow a few best practices to help their little ones get through a difficult day.

Plan the Move Around Your Child’s Schedule

Residential loads tend to follow similar schedules. The crew leader walks the house with you first, confirms what’s going and what’s staying, and starts the written inventory. Loading is when things get louder. It has the most foot traffic, furniture coming through doorways, and doors propped open. 

You can discuss this timing with the mover at the pre-move survey, and the company may have some leeway in when they arrive and start moving your items. The company’s representative should check for stairs, the distance between the house and the truck, certificates of insurance, and other points of order to gauge how long the move should take. 

If you live in an apartment or condo, part of that conversation should include whether you’ll have free use of the elevator or limited elevator access by reservation. If you’re only allowed to use the elevator at a certain time of day, that will determine when your move happens as much as anything else.

If your child has a reliably good stretch when they tend to be awake, say the two hours after the morning nap, tell your coordinator about it. They can’t promise to make that clock because traffic, building access, and how much you own all affect the timeline, and some days the schedule just doesn’t line up. But a crew that knows about a nap window will make every effort to work with it.

The Safest Place for a Child May Be at Another House

On loading day, your home is a job site. Floor runners are down, doors are propped open, and crew members are carrying dressers and stacks of boxes they can’t see past. A child who’s still crawling or a curious three-year-old who walks into a mover’s path is dangerous for both the child and the crewmember, and it slows the entire move as people work to keep the child safe.

Closing a child in a back bedroom doesn’t solve it, since the crew will need access to every room in the house. And a curious child is likely to be upset if they’re kept away from the action.

The solution we see many families use is to take the child off-site. A grandparent, a sitter, or a close friend is often an easy option. If daycare is the plan, book it as soon as you have a moving date. Drop-in infant spots disappear fast.

You’ll want to be present with the moving crew for about the first hour, when the walkthrough happens, and the inventory is written, and again after everything is loaded. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which regulates interstate moves, publishes a moving handbook that advises customers not to sign that inventory until they’ve confirmed it’s accurate and that any existing damage is noted. It is not a document to review with a fussy toddler on your hip.

Pack a Child Essentials Box You Can Reach Fast

Once something is in the inventory and on the truck, getting to it isn’t as simple as just pulling it back off the truck. Trucks are loaded for weight distribution and stacking, not for retrieval, and it seems never to fail that the box the customer needs to retrieve is buried against the front wall behind the rest of their entire house.

Keep essentials in a separate car bag. This might include diapers and wipes for roughly twice as long as you expect the move to take, as well as formula, bottles, or snacks, changes of clothes, medication in the original packaging, toys, a phone charger, and the most important comforts, such as favorite blankets or plush toys.

Also keep in mind that movers aren’t permitted to load perishables, aerosols, or household chemicals. The best place for frozen breast milk and refrigerated foods is in a cooler in the vehicle with you. 

Pack the Nursery Last

Your child depends on their room for comfort and entertainment. In many homes it’s where they spend much of their time, and it’s where many of their toys and books are kept. Keeping the nursery as-is for as long as possible can help the child’s emotional regulation as everything around them begins to feel frantic as moving day approaches.

Packing the nursery last, while the child is out of the house if possible, is often a good strategy. And when you get to your new place, unpacking the nursery first can help your child begin to acclimate to their new surroundings.

For similar reasons, try to keep a child’s routines as steady as possible. Keep meals and bedtimes the same, and read the same books with them to help them settle in for sleep. 

Curious toddlers might benefit from an honest discussion of what’s happening. You might explain it plainly and even give them a box of their own to pack with their toys, so they know their things will come with them. Letting them watch the truck pull up from a safe distance before they head out for the day can also help. The truck becomes something they saw, not something that took their things away.

If your closing dates don’t line up, storage should be folded into the move instead of managed as a separate errand. Full-service storage services give you the time you need between moves. 

If that’s your situation, be sure to consider what things your child might need for that longer stretch of time. You may want more toys, more clothes, and more comfort items, for example.

Set Up the Sleep Space Before Anything Else

When you get to your new place, one of the first things you’ll want to set up is a space where your child can sleep in relative comfort. Load order can do much of the work here. During the survey, tell your coordinator that the crib, dresser, rocker, and nursery boxes should be loaded last so they come off first. Crews place and reassemble furniture as part of delivery, which means you’ll be able to get your child back into normal routines as fast as possible.

You’ll then want to walk the house before small hands get access. Cabinet locks from the old house may not fit the new hardware. Bookcases and other furniture will need to be anchored to the studs in the new place. If the window blinds have cords, they will need to be changed or dealt with. And stairwells can vary in width, so a gate that fits the old house may not fit this one. 

If you have a small child, you’ll want to check outlet covers and window locks, turn the water heater down, and not leave the flattened boxes, plastic wrap, or box cutters lying around. 

Planning a Move With a Little One at Home

With Move360™, our team at Olympia Moving will handle packing, loading, unpacking and settling in, decluttering, junk removal, and more. Our 360° approach can help make your move as stress-free as possible. 

For families moving with young children, that scope of work can help you focus on what matters most, helping your young ones acclimate to the sudden changes in their lives. Contact us online, and we’ll work to build the moving day around the schedule you and your family need.